Jan. 27, 2009 issue
I attended Eastern Michigan University for both my undergraduate and
graduate degrees. My first experience teaching here was as a graduate
assistant in 1971 and 1972. I loved teaching here. I can still remember
sitting in my office in Pray-Harrold on my last day and looking out onto
Quirk. I was so sad inside because I knew I had to leave, but I didn't
want to. I always knew, in the back of my mind, that I would come back
here and teach someday.
After spending a wonderful 34 years as a high school teacher, I decided
that I wanted to return to EMU to teach. EMU feels like
home to me so, in 2005, I came back.
There are so many reasons why I teach here. I feel like EMU really welcomes
students. We open our arms and give students a chance to succeed. Also,
the focus is on high quality teaching. We are here because we want to
educate, but we also want to focus on the students' needs. For instance,
the new General Education program says we want you to have certain skills,
but we recognize that there are a lot of different ways to get there.
I like the diversity of the students here. The fact that EMU works hard
to maintain it is both important and valuable. Additionally, a lot of
our students are working their way through school. As much as I wish they
didn't have to, it grounds them and gives them a work ethic that will
serve them well in life.
Lastly, I like teaching at EMU because I had several professors here
who made a substantial difference in my life through their
encouragement and positive reinforcement. Teaching here
allows me to attempt to do the same for my students. — Contributed
by Heather Hamilton
